Step by Step Through Educational Publishing: Part 4
by Suzanne Lieurance
Note: Scroll down to read Parts 1 -3 of this article first.
Study the Markets
Once you’ve developed a bio or resume, it’s time to start studying the markets. The 2010 Book Markets for Children’s Writers is one of the most helpful resources you will have as you begin your study. Skim through the pages to find listings for a wide array of educational book publishers that produce materials for children, parents, and educators. Many of these listings indicate the publishers’ websites. Go to the sites of the companies that you are interested in writing for to see if they post manuscript submission guidelines or additional information about their current needs. Search these websites carefully. Sometimes the manuscript submission guidelines are bit difficult to find. Look under the About Us or Contact Us pages if you don’t see a link directly to submission guidelines. Once you get the guildelines, study them carefully. Also study the kinds of books and other materials this publisher publishes by looking through their online catalogue or list of products.
Barbara and Sue Gruber are a mother and daughter team who sell their work to a variety of educational publishers. They also offer online workshops for teachers at www.bgrubercourses.com. The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club and www.getrealresources.com also offer regular teleclasses and lessons to help writers learn to write for children’s educational markets.
The Grubers suggest to writers, “Go into a bookstore and study the bookshelves. If the store has five shelves dedicated to cookbooks and one shelf dedicated to parenting books, you can safely assume they are selling five times as many cookbooks as parenting books. In other words, the books that are getting the most ‘real estate’ on the shelves are the products that sell well. Go into a school supply store and look at the space they have allocated to reading, math, and science. Let’s assume they are managing their inventory well and they know what is and is not selling. If most of thei K-3 materials are about reading, that must be the subject they sell most to K-3 teachers.”
Writers can also send for publishers’ catalogues, then look through them to see how much space is allocated to each subject. If most of the space in a catalogue is allocated to products about science, then you will have a better chance of selling science related products to this publisher than you would materials for other subject areas.
Tomorrow – Find Out How to Contact Publishers….
Step by Step Through Educational Publishing – Part 3
by Suzanne Lieurance
Note: Scroll down to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this article first.
Develop Your Resume or Bio
Once you develop a focus for the type of educational materials you want to create, you will need to let publishers know you’re available and what you have to offer. For this you will need a brief biography or a resume. A bio consists of a few sentences or paragraphs that describe your background and publishing experience. The back inside cover of most books (both fiction and nonfiction) usually includes information on the author. Read the bios of a few of your favorite authors until you get the hang of how one should be written. You probably won’t have as much publishing experience as your favorite author, but you’ll still be able to come up with a sentence or two that describes your work as a writer or educator. It might be something as simple as, “Mary Roberts is a former third-grade teacher with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. While she was teaching, Ms. Roberts developed a wide variety of activities to use with her students.”
A resume is longer than a bio. It should include a list of your publishing credits, any writing related experience, and a list of your teaching experience (if applicable), as well as your education.
You’ll also need to get good at writing cover letters. A cover letter simply introduces you to the publisher and explains that you are either looking for assignments with this publilsher or you with to submit your own ideas for publication. If you hope to submit your own ideas for publication, you’ll need to learn how to write a proposal or prospectus. Many publishers have guidelines for proposals at their websites. In fact, some publishers even have a form you can complete online that will let you pitch your idea directly to an editor to see if there’s any interest in your idea before you go to all the work of developing a full proposal. Generally, a proposal should include an outline or a table of contents for the book you are proposing, an introduction or overview, and enough sample pages to give editors a clear idea of the book you are proposing, as well as your writing style. If you’re proposing a book with illustrations, but you’re not an illustrator, don’t worry about illustrations. Simple drawings that make your ideas clear will be sufficient. Usually, the publisher has artists on staff, or will hire an outside artists, to illustrate your book if it is accepted for publication.
Tomorrow….find out how to study the markets.
Marjo Dill Joins Our Faculty
June 2, 2010 by Adrian
Filed under Uncategorized
We’re pleased to announce that Margo L. Dill will be joining the faculty at the National Writing for Children Center in July. She will present her first teleclass for members of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club on July 6th.
Margo L. Dill is a freelance writer, editor, and teacher, living in Mahomet, Illinois. Her work has appeared in publications such as Grit, Pockets, True Love, Fun for Kidz, Missouri Life, ByLine Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Families, and The News-Gazette. She is a columnist and contributing editor for WOW! Women On Writing. She also teaches online classes for WOW! on social networking, blogging, and writing for children’s magazines. (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html) She is assistant editor for the Sunday Book page in The News-Gazette. Her first book, Finding My Place, a middle-grade historical novel, will be published by White Mane Kids. She writes a blog called, Read These Books and Use Them, (http://margodill.com/blog) for parents, teachers, and librarians. She owns her own copyediting business, Editor 911. (http://www.margodill.com/editor911.html) When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her husband, stepson, and two dogs—Chester, a boxer, and Hush Puppy, a basset hound. You can find out more about Margo by visiting her website: www.margodill.com.
The Blue Stone: A Journey Through Life
June 2, 2010 by Adrian
Filed under Book Reviews
Reviewed by Sherry Rogers
Title: The Blue Stone: A Journey Through Life
Author/Illustrator: Jimmy Liao
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group for Young Readers
ISBN13: 9780316113830
ISBN: 0316113832
Original Language: Chinese
In the heart of the forest lies a blue stone. Thousands of years go by until, one day, people come to the forest. They see the blue stone and fall in love with its beauty. The people long for the stone and decide to take it with them. They spit it in two. Sadness take hold of the stone’s heart.
The blue stone travels to a far off city and then across the ocean. From one hand to another hand, the blue stone is recreated. Along its journey the stone takes on many forms. People cheer and love the new creations of the stone, but one by one the stone’s heart breaks. It longs to be home, where it belongs. Years pass until the stone lies close to a warm heart full of love, but the love breaks and with it the stone breaks into grains small enough to float on the wind. Summer winds carry the stone through a town and back across the ocean, when at last the stone returns to the forest. It floats down and lies there for thousands of years with its other half. Finally the stone is home and no longer sad.
The Blue Stone is a remarkable story about life and the changes we go through. It gives a promise of hope and endurance. Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written. Children’s fiction, ages 9-12. A story sure to engage listeners and readers of all ages.
About the Author/Illustrator: Jimmy Liao, acclaimed author and illustrator, published his first picture book in 1998, Secrets in the Forest, along with A Fish With A Smile. Both books earned him several awards. Jimmy’s books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and sold around the world. The Sound of Colors has been adapted to a stage play as well as a motion picture.
Sherry Rogers is a freelance writer from Louisiana. She loves writing for children. They inspire her every day.
SIMON SAYS – Constructive Rejection
June 2, 2010 by Adrian
Filed under Simon Says
The best rejection letter is usually a personal one addressed to you, including the name of your story and specific comments about the plot, including what the editor liked and where he thinks it could be improved. Is the editor rejecting your work in this example? Absolutely, but this time, you now have a lead to follow up on.
Perhaps the editor thinks you need a faster pace, less or more description, longer chapters, a more exciting beginning or that one character in particular could be more fully developed and even give you a few ideas. He might tell you he’d be happy to look at your manuscript again if you make the changes he suggests, so obviously in those circumstances, you should resubmit to the same person. Alternatively, the editor might just suggest changes without a commitment to look at the piece again. However, its still worth a try to send it back with a cover letter referring to the editor’s original comments. If he then shows no interest, you can simply consider this as free professional advice on how you might improve your story, which you are now free to send somewhere else. And of course, you also still have the original version that you submitted in the first place, which might still be more to a different editor’s taste anyway.
